Bus riders wait for mayor to fulfill promise

In the 52 years he’s lived in Manoa, Donald Au’s family has relied on TheBus to get around Hono­lulu. But in the past seven months or so, Au says he’s watched his wife, neighbors and other nearby riders carve more time out of their days to catch buses that run less frequently.

Route 5, which runs from Ala Moana to Manoa, now arrives about every hour instead of every half-hour, Au said Wednesday. "It throws off a lot of working people, a lot of school kids that live in our area, a lot of senior citizens with doctor’s appointments," he added.

Au’s not alone in his concerns. Cuts and changes last year to the city’s bus service were made to trim costs as the system became more expensive to operate. But those changes fueled widespread angst among riders across the city, many of whom now wait longer hours to catch overcrowded buses. Several residents, including Au, circulated petitions that garnered hundreds of signatures in support of overturning the move.

Mayor Kirk Caldwell and his general election opponent, former Gov. Ben Caye­tano, pledged last year to reverse the cuts if elected. One month into his term, it’s not clear yet how Caldwell intends to enact those reversals — or how the city would pay for them.

However, aides say the city Department of Transportation Services had been weighing options in January and that Caldwell intends to announce a reversal plan publicly this month.

"Mayor Caldwell’s goal is to roll out the most needed improvements this March, with more changes in May, and all improvements continuing into the new fiscal year this July," Caldwell spokes­man Jesse Broder Van Dyke said in an email earlier this week. In a follow-up email, Broder Van Dyke said, "It is still premature to speculate on what the final decision will be."

Two other Honolulu residents concerned about the changes to bus routes said they met with Caldwell and Michael Formby, the new director of DTS, on Jan. 23 to discuss the issue.

"We felt that they listened intently to our concerns," said Becky Tyk­sin­ski, director of Development for The Arc in Hawaii, which teaches clients with intellectual and developmental abilities to become more self-sufficient.

Changes last year to Route 14 requiring transfers and longer waits prompted The Arc to scale back on its cleanup trips to Wai­alae Beach Park, shopping trips to Safeway on Kapahulu Avenue, and other community activities for about 52 clients at its Diamond Head Road offices, Tyk­sin­ski said. "We’re confident they’ll work with us" to reach a reasonable solution within the city’s budget constraints, she said Wednesday.

But St. Louis Heights resident Barbra Armentrout, who also attended that meeting with Caldwell and Formby, said she remains skeptical because the city officials did not provide specifics. "He (Caldwell) has not, at this time, done anything. … He was vague," Armentrout said. She added that she relies on Route 14 to get around town. Buses now run along that route far less frequently outside of peak hours when many seniors use the bus, Armentrout said. She called the overcrowding on buses across Hono­lulu a "horror story."

The changes looked to save up to $7 million a year. Even with those savings, the city expected that fuel costs for bus service would increase by about $3 million in 2013.

"Cayetano and Caldwell, they both promised to restore the bus service cuts," Au said. "I guess we have to give them time."